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Days 1 & 2 – Are You Ready Botswana?

The team met up at Heathrow terminal 4 on a rainy London afternoon and managed to get all our cricket kit and luggage onto our Kenya Airways Boeing 777 without a problem at the check-in desk. It might have run a little smoother had Scott not left his hand luggage and passport in the car that was heading back to Sussex but thankfully he got it back and Team Botswana hopped onto the plane to Nairobi.

A double helping of nuts, a 2am breakfast and a slight delay at Nairobi later, the transfer went smoothly and no luggage or items of clothing (e.g. Scott’s hoody!) went AWOL. The team were greeted by Graham and the good folk from the BCA (Botswana Cricket Association) at the small, uncomplicated airport and we bundled our 21 cases of kit onto the minibus outside and set off for the StayEasy Inn in the centre of Gaborone. Despite a 13+ hour journey spirits were high and we were kindly invited for curry at the BCA Oval where a game of Mushy in the nets and a tasty curry went down without any complaints. David and Scott were especially happy to be reunited with the guys they had met at their trip here last August, and a pleasant afternoon at the cricket ground was a relaxing and cheerful way to spend our first day in Botswana before what promises to be a busy couple of weeks.

A few changes to the initial itinerary are expected for the first week but we have planned to be at a local (30km from Gaborone) trust tomorrow afternoon before 3 days straight coaching in and around Gaborone.

Gaffe of the Day – Scott left the team hoodies by his front door (classic Scott!) and Ian’s 100 pula (£7.29) cash machine blunder sees them split the ‘Gaffe of the Day’ award. Yours truly expects to win a few of these – stay tuned.